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Petitjean’s 5000m³ annual production of ‘Gris bleu des Vosges’, ‘Feuille morte de Senones’ and ‘Rouge corail’ end and processed granite products is primarily intended for urban development (flagstones and cobblestones) and funeral monuments. In addition to the materials mined, 15,000 tonnes of gravel and 40,000 tonnes of stone debris are recycled and produced in La Bresse.
Petitjean opted to invest in its Liebherr crawler excavator duo to satisfy its strict requirements regarding consumption and productivity. The low fuel consumption of the R 956 impressed the company – in economy mode, the machine consumes an average of 29 litres an hour, and so offers maximum cost-effectiveness when used. When procuring the two 55-tonne machines from local authorised Liebherr-France SAS retailer Tilmat, costs over the entire service life of the machines were also taken into account, in addition to the purchase price, with the objective of ensuring maximum profitability and productivity of excavators when used.
The R 956 is highly suited to being used in Petitjean’s quarries, as it is an appropriate size, has a robust design and its large loading capacity guarantees high productivity. The two machines developed and manufactured in Colmar, France, meet Stage IV emissions standards and have a power output of 250kW. The shovels have a specially extended but – at 1600mm – not very broad profile. This profile allows them to hold the granite blocks better.
After having already spent over 500 hours in the machine cabs, both R 956 operators are satisfied in terms of application, power and comfort.
In addition to the technical solutions offered by Liebherr for this specific application, the expertise and manufacture of the crawler excavators in France were also said to be important factors in Petitjean’s purchasing decision. The company values proximity between manufacturer, retailer and granite factory.
The Petitjean granite factory is a family business going back nearly one hundred years, which today employs 80 workers. Petitjean is the last company to mine granite blocks in the Vosges. It aims to reuse the local, natural raw material in order to conserve mining.
In 2003, the company joined the Barrière group. The subsidiaries of the Barrière group are active across the entire value creation chain in the fields of construction materials and public construction work.
